The first week of 2013 has come to a close (yes, it’s only Friday, but humor me) and it ends with a bang.

Peter Parker is dead and Otto Octavius is the new Superior Spider-Man. Interesting idea, but like a friend said, this has shades of the Clone Saga all over it. Dan Slott did a great job with how it all came about, but like the Clone Saga, this is a major change to the status quo that can (and will be most likely) easily changed. Remember that it was revealed that Peter Parker had been a clone all along and Ben Reilly was the real Peter Parker? That didn’t last long before it was changed back.

But even with it being changed back eventually, the storyline accomplishes what Slott and crew set out to do, they are changing the status quo of a decades old character. At some point the stories start to all read the same. There really is only so much you can do with a character, especially in the world of comics where (for some strange reason) people don’t like change. New villains and histories don’t go over too well. So what do you do to keep it fresh?

I’ve enjoyed the Bufkin back-up stories in recent Fables and it’s nice to see him take center stage as his tale is concluded. It’s been a fun story, not quite cute, but very entertaining. The last chapter(s) take a darker turn, but it was nice to see Lily able to get her man. Wondering how many offspring they have out there?

Interesting stuff going on here. Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? I like the shades of grey being examined. Kris’ line about going to war with the army you have, not the one you want, was spot on. Excellent. Continuing the strong streak by Valiant. Why would I waste time on the New 52 with comics like this around?

5 out of 5

What Else Happened:

Finished reading Charon’s Claw this week. It’s book three, of the recently expanded four book series, Neverwinter Saga. I haven’t been the biggest fan of this series. I don’t like Dahlia Sin’felle, haven’t from the first. I’m hoping that Drizzt smartens up and ditches her in the next book. Claw was good, as all Salvatore books are, but since I didn’t like many of the characters and the situations, it was hard to really enjoy the book. I’m looking forward to the Neverwinter Saga ending next year and hope that Drizzt moves to a better place.

A lot of the series surprises were easy to figure out, notably Barrabus The Grey’s true identity as well as who Effron is an offspring of, but that didn’t take away from the impact of the reveals. I do think that Entreri is growing old as a protagonist, as are the Drow. It’s time for Drizzt to face some new foes. I did like that Drizzt was going down a darker road and realizing it. The last book, even though Dahlia and Herzgo Alegni are in it, I’ll be looking forward to because want to see where Salvatore takes Drizzt after decades with the character.

All I know is that Guen better escape.

My biggest issue with this latest series is that it’s a transition. It’s taking away the old and setting the stage for the new. It’s something that is needed in the long history of Drizzt, but I just don’t like the way it’s happening. Yes, I know it’s kind of hypocritical considering what I said above about Spider-Man, but it’s not that I’m resistant to change, it’s the way it’s happening that I don’t like.

I understand, accept and realize that Drizzt needs change. He’s an elf, he’s going to live a long time and see many people come and go in his life. I didn’t like the way Catti-Brie and Regis were taken, such strong characters really deserved a stronger death. I think part of the problem is that Salvatore had to change things to match the new D&D rules with Tieflings as well as the Spellplague changes brought to the Forgotten Realms. Neverwinter Saga really highlights the cons about working in someone else’s sandbox. Why is this a problem? I don’t like the changes. I don’t read any of the rest of the Forgotten Realms novels, or game modules (not like I used to, I miss the Bloodstone Lands module, such a great setting and characters), so I don’t understant the whole Netheril Empire, Shadovar and Shadowfell connections.

So as much as I love Drizzt, Guen and Salvatore’s highly descriptive fight scenes, I can’t wait for Neverwinter Saga to end. But always remember to ‘ware the battleragers (Poor Pwent).

And On The Toy Front:

We all know about the wave of G.I. Joe figures that came out at Dollar General right? The wave, affectionately called the DG Joes, contained 6 figures with minimal accessories and reused parts. The price point was $6 and it was meant to be a lower price figure to help spread the Joe name and get the figures into different demographics. Lots of behind the scenes stuff happened and the wave, which was thought to be hitting all discount stores, only ended up at Dollar General. And if you don’t know, Dollar General (like Ross) isn’t very widespread.

The guys at Hasbro in Rhode Island even mentioned they were having a hard time finding the figures at retail.

And yeah, there were no Dollar Generals in my area. At least not until Christmas. Merry Christmas to me, a Dollar General opened up on my way to work. Why’s this a big deal since I’ve gotten the first wave of figures already (except for the Black Cobra Trooper that I wanted to army build)? Besides being able to grab a couple extras of the awesome Shipwreck body to use for customs, the 2nd wave (which is the same as the first but recolored) is hitting EBay it seems. That would indicate, hopefully, that they’ll be hitting the shelves soon.